I would Blame it On the CBF to be honest, Dunga is being the coach he is.
DMs that later become coaches, usually tend to like playing a defensive way, despite having any Kind of Attacking star.
However, looking at Dunga's Formation, He is giving the Offense the Privilege, but it's not in him to manage a team that rock the world with their Style.
As a Brazilian fan, I prefer to sleep watching their matches as long as they win..Rather than See them Dazzle the World...Yet lose...

Brazil, With 5 Stars up at their shirts..are the masters of football....

For all the shameless fawning over Brazil in this thread, you seemed to have forgotten that Brazil have six World Cups, not five. And was this opened simply as an excuse to post yet another truckload of Kaka pictures?

For all the shameless fawning over Brazil in this thread, you seemed to have forgotten that Brazil have six World Cups, not five. And was this opened simply as an excuse to post yet another truckload of Kaka pictures?

YEAH!!! you tell 'em Beemer......f**k brazilians good thing Dida is from Trinidad and for all the IDIOTS that don't know....they have won SIX WC's '58, '62, '70, '94 02 and 2010 Thinking that they won five because they have five stars on their jersey is such a dumbass thing to do Soldier ...it's not like Italy have four stars or Germany have three or Argentina have two etc....

YEAH!!! you tell 'em Beemer......f**k brazilians good thing Dida is from Trinidad and for all the IDIOTS that don't know....they have won SIX WC's '58, '62, '70, '94 02 and 2010 Thinking that they won five because they have five stars on their jersey is such a dumbass thing to do Soldier ...it's not like Italy have four stars or Germany have three or Argentina have two etc....

The Ideal Formation For Brazil if R-80 Gets Back In Form(Or Not)
-------------------Cesar--------
--Maicon---Thiago Silva--Jaun----Marcelo
-------------Anderson---Lucas Levas
-----R-80-(Pato)r------Kaka--------Robinho
---------------Adriano(Pato)------
This is if they're playing against the likes of Venezuala And Colombia.
If Pato plays behind the striker..Kaka should be transformed to the wing...

It promises to be a footballing carnival in Brasília on Wednesday night as the pioneers and masters of Joga Bonito, Brazil, take on the Samba Kings of Europe, Portugal. There’s hardly a better celebration of the beautiful game to close out the year!

Same Difference

Despite sharing the same culture, history, language, footballing principles and to a certain extent the same type of players, Brazil and Portugal could not have more contrasting fortunes when it comes to winning titles at senior international level.

A Seleção are five-time world champions with eight continental crowns tucked away in the background, while their European brothers can only boast of a third-placed finished in the World Cup (1966) and a runners-up medal at the European Championships (2004).

One thing they do have in common throughout 2008, especially these past few months, is that both nations have been utterly inconsistent and oftentimes just plain unconvincing. It’s even more ironic that two of the most attack-minded, stylish national sides in world football are having trouble scoring goals regularly.

Inconsistent Canarinhas

Brazil coach Dunga has had to endure a topsy-turvy year. Despite winning the Copa América in 2007, he failed to win over his harshest critics and ever since then, almost every international outing has been accompanied by cries for him to either step down or be given the boot.

The problem lies in the fact that the Canarinha simply cannot string together two decent performances back-to-back, let alone victories. An impressive, thumping win would often be followed by an uninspired scoreless draw and if there’s one thing that irks Brazilian fans more than losing, it is those dull, insipid goalless games.

Despite their rocky World Cup qualifying campaign, Brazil are still very much on course to book their ticket to South Africa 2010 as they sit in second spot in the CONMEBOL standings, a healthy four points inside the automatic qualification zone. The same, however, cannot be said for Portugal.

Portugal In Trouble

The Selecção das Quinas currently lie in third place in Group 1 behind Denmark and Hungary and they are in serious danger of missing out on the sport’s showpiece event in the summer of 2010.

Their last three qualifying games have been nothing short of a disaster. A shock 2-3 loss at home to Denmark was followed by surprise draws against Sweden and unfancied Albania. And they have now failed to score in their last two outings. Nothing too overly dramatic, of course, but when you have a squad that possess the swagger of Cristiano Ronaldo, Deco, Simão and Ricardo Quaresma, the one thing that you would expect to see is goals.

All this comes, of course, after their disappointing Euro 2008 campaign in Austria-Switzerland in the summer when they entered the tournament as one of the favourites, grew in stature almost immediately when the competition began, only to bow out tamely to Germany in the quarter-finals.

Even with an experienced, World Cup winning coach like Luiz Felipe Scolari steering the vessel, Portugal continued to flounder at the big stage. And with Big Phil now gone, there’s a realisation that yet another era might have passed without the nation achieving the great heights they always seem to promise.

There’s no doubting that the two current coaches, Dunga and Carlos Queiroz, are under varying degrees of pressure and both are fully aware that they may not have the same job by the time 2009 rolls around. But the pair will gladly forget about competitive football for a while and take Wednesday’s friendly to enjoy each other’s company and trade similar footballing philosophies.

FORM GUIDE

Brazil

Oct 15 Brazil 0-0 Colombia (CONMEBOL WCQ)

Oct 12 Venezuela 0-4 Brazil (CONMEBOL WCQ)

Sep 10 Brazil 0-0 Bolivia (CONMEBOL WCQ)

Sep 07 Chile 0-3 Brazil (CONMEBOL WCQ)

Jun 18 Brazil 0-0 Argentina (CONMEBOL WCQ)

Portugal

Oct 13 Portugal 0-0 Albania (UEFA WCQ)

Oct 11 Sweden 0-0 Portugal (UEFA WCQ)

Sep 10 Portugal 2-3 Denmark (UEFA WCQ)

Sep 06 Malta 0-4 Portugal (UEFA WCQ)

Aug 20 Portugal 5-0 Faroe Islands (FRIENDLY)

TEAM NEWS

Brazil

Dunga has called up troubled Inter Milan striker Adriano to the squad but he has left out in-form playmaker, Ronaldinho, claiming that he does not want to risk the former Barça man picking up an injury while he is still not in perfect condition. Defender Lúcio has been forced to withdraw from the squad after picking up a knock at the weekend in club action with Bayern Munich.

Despite a vacant slot opening up, there’s no place for back-to-full-fitness Roma centre-back, Juan. However, recent omissions such as Marcelo, Diego and Luis Fabiano are all back in favour.

Like his opposite number, Carlos Queiroz has also summoned his strongest possible squad although he insists that he is keen to experiment with his line-up. Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho is unavailable due to injury, but Real Madrid’s Pepe, who is nursing a bruised thigh, will travel with the squad to Brazil.

Juventus midfielder Tiago has been recalled to the side after a 15-month absence, while defender Rolando and midfielder César Peixoto have been handed their first call ups. The only two surprise omissions are Inter Milan winger, Ricardo Quaresma and Benfica striker, Nuno Gomes.

Yes, it’s the battle of the wizards. And you’d be forgiven for thinking this is another instalment of the Harry Potter series. As usual, there’s always a sinful selection of superstars to choose from when Brazil are in action. But none are quite as influential and inspiring as Kaká and Robinho. The AC Milan playmaker is slowly returning to his best form after a series of injuries prevented him from hitting any sort of consistency, while the Manchester City forward appears to have found a new lease of life ever since his exit from Real Madrid, and he is finally playing football with a smile again.

Portugal – Deco, Cristiano Ronaldo

Portugal’s answers to Kaká and Robinho. Deco started off his English Premier League life at Chelsea with a bang but he has since struggled to replicate that dazzling form. But some time out with the national set-up might just be the tonic he needs, and he always has this tendency to find that extra gear with the Selecção. Ronaldo, on the other hand, is gradually hitting top form after a slow start and he would love nothing more than to bury the disappointment of Euro 2008 with a Ballon d’Or-worthy performance to finish off the year.

PREDICTION

This will be only Brazil’s fourth home game in 2008 but they have failed to score in all three so far. However, goals should not be an issue in what is expected to be a free-flowing match.

The result will depend on how adventurous or how conservative Queiroz’s tactics are. Teams who fight fire with fire against Brazil rarely come out on top and it’s also worth remembering that Portugal have only ever won four times in their previous 17 meetings against the South Americans.

Finally, a friendly game that lived up to its promise, hype and expectations. The free-flowing football between the two sides produced eight goals but there was no question as to who ended up as the dominant force. Goal.com rates the performers on the pitch.

BRAZIL

Júlio César – 6: Surprisingly wasn’t as busy as he would have expected considering Portugal’s attacking penchant. Can’t be faulted for the first goal but he failed to close down the angles to deny the second by Simão. Other than that, only made a few routine saves.

Maicon – 8: Very lively down the right flank. Always provided assistance but also never left his duties at the back unattended. Scored a gem of a goal and help set-up another.

Luisão – 8: Solid as a rock at the back. Always held firm and stood his ground to put in strong tackles and interceptions. Didn’t let anyone get past him in one-on-one, shoulder-to-shoulder situations.

Thiago Silva – 7.5: Showed good judgement and reading of the game and collaborated well with Luisão. They never got in one another’s way and always knew where each other would be to cover any gaps.

Kléber – 7.5: Wasn’t at all troubled by Ronaldo or Simão. That could largely be because he never roamed forward and he had his flank covered at all times.

Gilberto Silva – 7: As always, hung quietly deep inside his own territory. Barely heard his name mentioned, hardly saw his face on camera, but that does not mean he wasn’t in the contest. A typical unsung hero-styled performance.

Anderson – 7: Very hardworking. Combined well with Gilberto Silva and he was the player to link the backline to the midfield with his bursting runs forward from deep.

Elano – 8: Wasn’t really involved offensively in the first half. He was more aggressive after the restart and was encouraged to push forward more. Scored without question the goal of the night with a stunning, bending, curling shot from a tight angle. Extra marks just for that!

Kaká – 8.5: Took a while to get going but once he started his engines, he went straight up to fifth gear. Completely dominated the midfield and almost every single Brazilian attack went through him. Made two assists, including a brilliant dribble past two defenders to set-up Luis Fabiano’s second goal

Robinho – 8.5: Another swashbuckling performance. Almost everything he did on the pitch came off perfectly. A shame he didn’t get on the scoresheet but he set-up two goals and was involved in another. Disappeared towards the end of the game but he had already inflicted his damage.

Luís Fabiano – 9: In typical predatory style, had three shots on goal and tucked away all three of them. But he did more than just that. He was constantly fighting for the ball upfront, holding it up, creating spaces and even teed-up Maicon’s goal.

Quim – 4: Although most of Brazil’s goals were spectacular, he was at fault for at least three of them with his poor positioning. Never looked confident and his command over his defenders just collapsed.

Bosingwa – 5: Charged forward every chance he had. Perhaps too recklessly! Left his right flank exposed time and time again and had no answers to stop Robinho. Did occasionally drift into the middle to help out his centrebacks.

Pepe – 4: Outmuscled by Robinho for the first goal and failed to stop Luis Fabiano for the second. Unable to impose himself at the back and barely won any of the critical tackles.

Bruno Alves – 4.5: Had no equilibrium with Pepe whatsoever. Caught out of position numerous times and had to rely on his teammates to cover for him. Made the assist Danny’s opening goal, though but that is scant consolation.

Paulo Ferreira – 4: Didn’t attack as much as Bosingwa and yet his flank looked even more exposed. Four of the six goals came through his side of the pitch.

Deco – 4.5: Completely anonymous in the first half. Other than his through ball which fed Simão’s goal, he had almost nothing significant to show.

Tiago – 4: Showed a few good touches of the ball early on and was very involved in attack. But once Brazil wrestled control of the game, he was nowhere to be seen.

Maniche – 6.5: Fought hard all across the midfield. Tried his best to clean up at the back and help his forward line at the same time. Full marks for his work rate.

Simão – 6: Drifted in and out of the game. When he was on the ascendancy, he looked very menacing everytime he had the ball as he took advantage of the spaces left open by an out-marked Ronaldo.

Danny – 6: Made an immediate impact with his very first goal for his country after just four minutes. But he failed to build on that and he was barely allowed another shot on goal after that. Was always easily muscled off the ball and fell to the ground far too often.

Ronaldo – 5.5: Made a sizzling start but quickly overshadowed by Robinho and Kaká as the game progressed. Eight goals scored on the night and not a single one from him… not even an assist. His bag of tricks simply did not work against a sharp Brazilian backline who always knew what he was up to.